The Cincinnati Reds appear to have already made their stance on Eugenio Suárez pretty clear, and the latest comments from president of baseball operations Nick Krall only sharpened that picture.
Suárez was placed on outright waivers before Sept. 1, and even though no other club claimed him, that move already suggested the Reds were unlikely to pick up his mutual option or bring him back in free agency this winter. Krall then leaned even further into the club’s direction.
“We brought in players that didn’t necessarily fit that philosophy (one that stressed contact and reaching base)," Krall said. "We need to make sure we give those guys (the Reds coaching staff) better players for them to develop.”
That philosophy does not exactly line up with Suárez, who has always been more about impact than consistency. He’s the kind of hitter who can clear 30 homers with ease, but the tradeoff is a pile of strikeouts. This year, he finished with a .212/.307/.433 line, 26 home runs, 74 RBI and 169 strikeouts.
When he signed a one-year, $15 million deal in February, plenty of Reds fans had visions of a monster season from the two-time All-Star. Suárez was coming off a 49-homer year split between the Arizona Diamondbacks and Seattle Mariners, and with Great American Ball Park in his corner, 40-plus homers didn’t feel far-fetched.
Instead, his season got off track early. Suárez spent the spring away from Goodyear while playing for Team Venezuela in the World Baseball Classic, then was slowed by an oblique injury that sidelined him for a month. Even after that, it took time for him to settle in and start looking like himself again.
He posted a .663 OPS through his first 25 games, then landed on the 10-day IL and didn’t return until late May. From there through the end of June, he hit just .183/.256/.376 and still hadn’t fully found his rhythm.
The back half of the season told a different story. From July 1 through the end of the year, Suárez produced the kind of stretch Reds fans had been hoping for when he signed.
Over his final 69 games, he hit .218/.332/.487 with 18 homers and 45 RBI. Over a full 162-game season, that pace would have translated to 42 home runs and 105 RBI.
Even so, that profile doesn’t appear to fit where Cincinnati wants to go in 2027. Krall also said the Reds need more lineup pieces who can help Terry Francona play the matchups better.
“We need to do a better job of filling in the bottom of the roster, whether it’s complementary players or some of the starters, doing a better job to get Tito more guys that he can platoon, that are usable platoon guys," Krall said.
That’s not really Suárez’s lane at this point. At 35 years old, he’s viewed as a DH-only bat who can handle third base once or twice a week.
If he ends up lingering on the market longer than expected - as he did last winter - there’s at least a slim path back to Cincinnati on an incentive-heavy deal worth around $7 million, plus escalators. But for now, the Reds and Suárez seem to be heading in different directions.
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